Chapter 101 - 99: Gou Junbao’s Suspicion
The Association Secret Realm in Qingzhen.
With a flash of red light, the Shadow of the Red Demoness appeared, "embracing" Gou Junbao’s Audi A4.
"THUD~" It was a bit of an unsteady landing.
The Audi’s alarm began to blare nonstop. "BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP~~"
Qin Xiaoxia quickly shut it off from inside the car.
"We’re home, we’re home! Big Cousin, I’m hungry!"
Doudou hopped out of the car, spun around once, and immediately started clamoring for food.
Qin Xiaoxia’s stomach was growling too. After traveling all night, they had used up a massive amount of energy. It was time for breakfast.
’But... I have to return this car...’
Last night, this Audi had basically become an off-road vehicle. It had been driven on highways and back roads, scraped along the ridges of fields, and suffered countless scratches. But the key thing was that kick to its rear.
Qin Xiaoxia’s kick had been pretty powerful, leaving a small dent in the trunk lid.
Gou Junbao was a pretty magnanimous guy, but he’d probably flip out if he saw his beloved car wrecked like this, right?
’Thinking about how much Junbao treasures his car, it’s almost as if it fills the void left by his inability to find a wife.’
A shiver went down Qin Xiaoxia’s spine.
Gou Junbao was a nice guy, and when nice guys get angry, it’s terrifying. Even though Qin Xiaoxia was practically a non-human entity, he still didn’t want to see Junbao go berserk.
’Sigh, I should probably return the car keys first.’
He glanced back at the car’s clock. It was a little before seven. ’Brother Gou probably isn’t up yet.’
...
Gou Junbao had just spent all of yesterday dealing with his uncle, who had come to "capture" his own son, South Wind. He was exhausted.
Because of the extraordinary work ethic South Wind had developed under Qin Xiaoxia, Gou Junbao had taken it upon himself to call and put in a good word for him, planning to let South Wind finish his work before heading home.
But as soon as South Wind and his friends were done, they gave a quick shout and took off without a moment’s delay, which meant his uncle came up empty-handed when he arrived.
What could he do? He was an elder, after all. Gou Junbao had no choice but to take a day off and play the part of a proper host.
When the man couldn’t catch his son, his focus immediately shifted to Gou Junbao’s love life. Upon learning that Gou Junbao had gone through a series of breakups and makeups with several girlfriends recently, his uncle was shocked!
Could it be that Gou Junbao, who had been the model "other family’s child" since he was young, had also become such a playboy?
Little did he know, Gou Junbao was actually quite serious every time he dated. He had no idea if he’d been blacklisted by the god of marriage or something, but even girls he thought he was getting along with perfectly would break up with him for no reason.
His uncle, with his lecture cannons firing at full blast, seemed ready to drag Gou Junbao back to their hometown for a joint interrogation with his other uncles and parents. It made Gou Junbao’s entire day feel like he was walking on thin ice, and he’d only barely managed to see his uncle off.
「On the top floor of Building 12 in Qian Building District, early in the morning.」
"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK~~"
The loud knocking startled Gou Junbao from a pleasant dream.
"Who is it, so early in the morning!"
Muttering a complaint, he threw off his blanket, slipped on a jacket, and went to open the door.
He peeked through the peephole. Seeing Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou outside, he opened the door right away.
"You’ve been a rare sight lately. Aren’t you living in that ’castle’ now? Is your business finished? Are you moving back in?"
Doudou, holding a plastic bag, sincerely offered it to Gou Junbao.
"Here, your breakfast!"
"Oh? Acting all well-behaved, are we? That’s rare. Come on in, why are you just standing in the doorway?"
Gou Junbao took the bag and stepped aside, inviting Doudou inside.
Sitting down at the coffee table, Gou Junbao started taking the breakfast items out one by one.
There was century egg and pork congee, pan-fried buns, soft tofu pudding, a salted duck egg, and a few meat buns.
"Such a feast. Honestly, did you do something wrong? Are you hoping I’ll put in a good word for you with Little Hero? I’ll have you know, sometimes your big cousin doesn’t even listen to me, so it might not work!"
Doudou attentively removed the lid from the tofu pudding for Gou Junbao and handed him a spoon.
"Brother Gou, you eat, you eat first! You can definitely help with this. Otherwise, my big cousin will beat the crap out of me!"
’This serious?’ Doudou, that little rascal, was even using polite honorifics. Gou Junbao found this completely novel.
His stomach was a bit empty, so he didn’t stand on ceremony.
As he ate, he saw Doudou staring at him eagerly. He smiled and offered him a bun, but the boy refused to take it no matter what, insisting it was bought especially for him and that he couldn’t possibly eat it.
Gou Junbao didn’t insist. He quickly polished off more than half of the food and handed the remaining few buns to Doudou.
"Alright, I’m full. The rest is for you. It’ll go to waste if you don’t eat it."
"By the way, what’s this about? If I can help, I absolutely will!"
Doudou hopped down from the sofa. He composed himself with a serious expression for a moment, then said to Gou Junbao,
"I have a dream. When I grow up, I want to be a race car driver!"
"Mm, a good dream. More character than wanting to be a scientist."
Gou Junbao agreed perfunctorily.
"But having a dream isn’t enough to become a race car driver!"
Doudou’s grown-up-like expression made Gou Junbao chuckle.
"Right, right, just dreaming about it definitely isn’t enough!"
Doudou nodded at him.
"Yeah, at the very least, you need the skills of a race car driver!"
Gou Junbao laughed in agreement, then added a point.
"Besides that, you also need a car."
"Right! I also need a car! Otherwise, there’s no way to get the skills!"
Gou Junbao chuckled. ’Is Doudou really here today just to talk about his dreams? No way. This little brat is cut from the same cloth as his big cousin, Qin Xiaoxia. There’s no reason he’d show up just to deliver breakfast.’
"Doudou, just get to the point."
"Ahem~"
Doudou coughed, then pulled a very familiar set of keys from his pocket.
"Well, the point is... after my tireless efforts, I have now acquired some... immature driving skills!"
A bad feeling welled up inside Gou Junbao. The corner of his eye twitched as he stared at Doudou, who pointedly avoided his gaze.
A few minutes later, staring at the Audi parked haphazardly on the roadside outside the district, Gou Junbao wanted to cry but had no tears.
He crouched down to check on the nervous Doudou beside him.
"You drove it yourself? You can’t even reach the gas pedal!"
Then he checked Doudou from head to toe.
"You’re not hurt, are you?"
"I’m fine... It’s the one that’s badly hurt."
Doudou pointed at the car.
Gou Junbao walked around the car a few times. Aside from the dent on the trunk lid, the rest was just scrapes and scratches.
’Dammit, what the hell was that bastard Qin Xiaoxia doing to get the car into this state!’
But seeing Doudou’s anxiety, he could only offer some words of comfort.
"It’s not that badly hurt. It just needs a new coat of paint."
From Gou Junbao’s words, Doudou realized his attempt to smooth things over had failed. He had no choice but to play his trump card.
Cry! And cry with all his might!
The sound of sobbing made Gou Junbao’s nose tingle.
He remembered Qin Xiaoxia once telling him about Doudou’s past. This adorable child had been rejected by both of his biological parents due to a terrible family situation. He was passed between relatives and even spent time in an orphanage before Qin Xiaoxia finally took him in, posing as a relative.
Qin Xiaoxia could be a bit unreliable at times, but he was kind-hearted. Still, that didn’t give him the right to use a child to gain sympathy for his own screw-ups!
Gou Junbao was fuming. While comforting Doudou, he dialed Qin Xiaoxia’s number.
The moment Qin Xiaoxia saw the caller ID, he knew Doudou had delivered the keys.
However, the tongue-lashing he got right off the bat wasn’t about damaging the car, but about making a minor come and stage a melodrama.
On the other end of the line, Qin Xiaoxia was completely baffled. ’I just asked Doudou to return the keys and bring over some breakfast. How did that turn into "making a minor" do something?’
’Okay, I guess it technically counts as "making him" do it, but that’s not such a serious offense, is it? Shouldn’t your anger be focused on the car? What unnecessary stunt did that little rascal Doudou pull this time?’
Qin Xiaoxia spent a good while talking him down, apologizing and explaining. He also transferred 3,000 yuan to Gou Junbao for the paint job before hanging up.
But this whole ruckus successfully diverted attention, shifting Qin Xiaoxia’s responsibility from "destroying a car" to "a matter of poor education."
Gou Junbao even started to think that maybe they should find a kindergarten for Doudou to attend.
At the same time, he grew suspicious about what Qin Xiaoxia had been up to last night. He also recalled the way South Wind had looked at him before leaving. The kid had stared at him like he was some kind of idol, with a gaze that seemed to say, "You’ve been hiding so much from me," and "So that’s how it is." South Wind had even mumbled something about now understanding why Gou Junbao couldn’t find a wife. None of it made any sense, and it had left Gou Junbao utterly confused at the time.
Then there was Qin Xiaoxia getting into sculpture for no reason, moving back into his old house to tinker with who-knows-what, plus the questions of why the car was in such a state after last night and how he’d gotten the keys in the first place.
Suddenly, Qin Xiaoxia, a man he had known for years, seemed to be shrouded in mystery.